Cadbury Mini Eggs have long been considered one of the classic Easter treats. But this year, many chocolate fans have been going crazy for the snack.
The treats have been trending on social media after Cadbury launched a massive 1kg-sized bag for £10. TikTokers have been rushing to their local Waitrose to get their hands on the supersized packets, while searches for Mini Egg recipes have surged and chocoholics started a trend of heating the sugar-coated eggs in the microwave, reports BirminghamLive.
While Mini Eggs might be seen by many as the ultimate Easter treat though, maker Cadbury has increased the price this year, with the average bag now costing £1.25 instead of £1. So BirminghamLive's Emily Collis went to put super market own brands to the test.
Emily picked up packets of chocolate mini eggs from Sainsbury's, Aldi, M&S and Waitrose and taste-tested them compared to the real thing. And, much to her surprise, one tasted almost identical. Here's how Emily found them:
Sainsbury's
My first impression of Sainsbury's Milk Chocolate Micro Eggs was that, obviously, they were a lot smaller than Cadbury's. But they were actually the best value of the bunch for a small bag - £1 for 100g instead of the £1.25 I paid for an 80g so-called 'sharing bag' of Cadbury Mini Eggs from Asda.
Apart from being almost a third of the size, the Sainsbury's versions looked pretty similar - speckled and colourful. But they tasted a little cheap, like Christmas chocolate, and the shell to chocolate ratio was off. Possibly because the eggs were so small, they tasted a lot crunchier.
They weren't bad, but Cadbury's were definitely better. Overall score: 2/5.
M&S
Marks & Spencer's Chicky Choccy Speckled Eggs were almost as pricy as Cadbury's at £1.25 for a 90g bag, but the adorable name had me sold. They also did an orange-flavoured bag, which was the same price for an 85g pack. I bought both.
Compared to the originals, they were huge - probably double the size - but they were more brightly-coloured and didn't have the same powdery finish.
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I bit one in half and worried my teeth might crack. The candy shells were so thick that it felt like I was chewing an actual eggshell. The chocolate tasted lovely - and the orange chocolate even lovelier - but the shell spoiled it a bit for me. Overall score: 2.5/5.
Waitrose
It's probably worth mentioning here that I also went to Tesco, Lidl and Asda for this taste test, but couldn't find any own-brand chocolate eggs that were sugar-coated.
The Eggstraordinary Speckled Eggs by Heston from Waitrose were huge - probably four times the size of a Mini Egg - but they appeared to fit my criteria. It wasn't until I bit into one that I realised they were just pretending.
I should have known to expect the unexpected from Heston Blumenthal. It wasn't a hard sugar-shell at all, but a layer of blue-coloured chocolate. Another surprise came at the centre - a dollop of gooey, salted caramel.
If I'd have read the description on the back of the box, I'd have known these were milk chocolate eggs filled with fleur de sel caramel. Still, they tasted heavenly. The chocolate was smooth like Galaxy and the caramel was luxuriously rich.
It's hard to compare the taste to Cadbury Mini Eggs, but pricewise, these were far more expensive at £4.80 for an 88g pack. Nonetheless, I'd buy them again in a heartbeat. They're only available at Waitrose until April 8, so you'll have to be quick to give them a try. Overall score (minus a point for not being a proper mini egg): 4/5.
Aldi
Of all the supermarket alternatives, Aldi's looked the most similar to Cadbury's - from the yellow bag with purple writing, down to the pastel, speckled eggs. They even had a similar icing sugar-like smell.
After Sainsbury's, the Dairyfine Mini Chocolate Eggs were the cheapest at 99p for an 80g bag. I chomped one, then a couple more, then a couple more just to be sure. I couldn't believe how similar they tasted to Cadbury's.
The crunchy shell was thin with a slightly powdery texture and the chocolate at the centre was creamy, sweet and slightly bitter - not too dissimilar from Cadbury. If I had to be picky, I'd say the Aldi ones had a very slight hint of cheap chocolate, but if I'd done the test blindfolded, I'm not sure I'd have noticed the difference. Overall score: 4.5/5.
